At GPJ, our Integrated Production team is the operational core that brings creative ideas to life. Acting as the bridge between strategy, creative, fabrication, and execution, IP ensures that every element of a brand experience is flawlessly delivered—on time, on budget, and with precision. This team manages the full production lifecycle, including environmental design, fabrication, graphics, digital integrations, technical production, logistics, and vendor oversight.
A large facet of Integrated Production includes Graphics Management. To shed light on this vital intersection between creative, fabrication, and IP, we had the pleasure of chatting with Erinne Hoedt, Director of Graphics Management, to gain some insight.
From Ignite Coordinator to Director of Graphics Management
Erinne Hoedt began her journey with the GPJ Ignite Program. Freshly graduated and interested in working on larger experiences—unlike the smaller, more local events that her studies directed her towards—Erinne found GPJ. In 2015, she set sail as an Igniter in the graphics department. With no background in graphic design or graphic production, she wasn’t sure what to expect.
“I discovered a lot about myself in that internship…I realized I really do thrive in high-pressure environments.”
As her first introduction to being on-site, Erinne assisted with Dreamforce—one of the biggest experiences GPJ has the pleasure of supporting.
“It was amazing. I had never been to an event like that before. I’d gone to music festivals and things like that growing up, but never a corporate event. I was actually shocked that this was a corporate event. It felt like a festival.”
The Importance of Graphic Production
“Go to any event. Look around. Graphics are everywhere. Now imagine an event with no graphics—how would you even know you were there?”
With a decade of experience under her belt, Erinne has gotten to shape and grow with the department from the very beginning.
“When I started, graphics management wasn’t the established team it is today. It’s been an incredible transformation to witness over the last decade.”
From design and production to on-site installation at events, Erinne blends creative vision, technical oversight, and cross-functional leadership to ensure that every visual asset meets the expectations of the client team and our internal team. Graphics play an essential role when it comes to creating the overall visual narrative and intuitive navigation of an experience.
“What I love most about my job is the blend of process and creativity. Much of what we do is operational and process-driven, but ultimately, our job is to bring the creative team’s ideas to life.”
With a passion for turning complex, conceptual ideas into reality—on tight timelines and budgets no less—Erinne has found that Graphics Management satisfies her drive for creative problem-solving.
Cross-functional collaboration: a necessity in experiential marketing
“I know it’s uncommon to say that meetings are a favorite part of a job—but for me, they’re essential.”
If there’s one thing our agency relies on, it’s cross-functional collaboration. Good thing Erinne enjoys exactly that: the collaborative effort required to create jaw-dropping experiences.
“We sit in the middle of so many teams—graphics, fabrication, creative, IP…I really love taking a consultative approach and collaborating with all the different teams to make sure that their dreams and concepts are coming to life—to turn those concepts into reality.”
Erinne takes great pride in having helped refine that collaboration process over the years, because at the end of the day, her department’s creations don’t manifest digitally—these creations are physically implemented into a space. They need to arrive on time, undamaged, and flawlessly executed.
A lot can go wrong between point A and B, which is what makes the collaborative aspect of Erinne’s position incredibly important. Erinne is passionate about improving the efficiency and simplicity of the graphics management process without sacrificing quality, because the effectiveness of her department’s collaboration with others is crucial to the success of any experience.
It’s folks like Erinne that give Graphics Management and Integrated Production the chops to take on anything our clients have to throw our way. From an Ignite Coordinator with no background in graphics to an exceptional Director of Graphics Management, Erinne continues to look forward to where GPJ will take her next.
“It definitely was the best decision I made…This has been a really wonderful career for me so far. I mean…my generation is so used to hopping around from company to company in their careers, and I’ve stayed at GPJ my whole career…I don’t plan to leave anytime soon.”
